Seek God First
2 Kings 3:1-10
1 Now Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years.
2 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, but not like his father and mother; for he put away the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had made.
3 Nevertheless he persisted in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin; he did not depart from them.
4 Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he regularly paid the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs and the wool of one hundred thousand rams.
5 But it happened, when Ahab died, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.
6 So King Jehoram went out of Samaria at that time and mustered all Israel.
7 Then he went and sent to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, saying, “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?” And he said, “I will go up; I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”
8 Then he said, “Which way shall we go up?” And he answered, “By way of the Wilderness of Edom.”
9 So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom, and they marched on that roundabout route seven days; and there was no water for the army, nor for the animals that followed them.
10 And the king of Israel said, “Alas! For the Lord has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”
For years God’s people have allowed the enemy to continue to steal from them, over and over again.
Then finally, God’s people became feed up, continuing to allow the enemy to steal from them, so they are putting a stop to it.
But even though the enemy wasn’t stealing from them, the enemy was never forced to pay back those things he had stolen from them.
- So God’s people, who is the Army of the Lord, began to get the troops ready, to train them for battle.
Then the Army finally started marching against the enemy, and what happens…
But on the way to go kick the devil’s butt, they realized that they were so focused on destroying the works of the enemy, that they failed to continue to look for and fill up on the life-giving water that they so desperately needed.
I’m sure they passed several places that they could have refilled their water supplies, but instead they were too focused on destroying the enemy. They found themselves in the middle of a dessert, with no water. They were in a dry place, and desperately needed life-giving water.
Verses 9-10
9 So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom, and they marched on that roundabout route seven days; and there was no water for the army, nor for the animals that followed them.
10 And the king of Israel said, “Alas! For the Lord has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”
Now when you read this, this story sounds awful familiar…
Almost like a cross between, Moses and the Israelites at the Red Sea, and Joshua and the Israelites marching around Jericho…
- They were going to destroy the enemies of the Lord
- They walked around for 7 days
- The biggest difference is, at that point, these people began to complain, not trusting what God could do, and they began to want to turn back…
- And Joshua and the Israelites walked around 7 times on the 7th day, and then they begin to praise the Lord for He had already given them the enemy
- BUT this time, when the King of Israel was complaining, Jehoshaphat sought after the voice of God, through the prophet named Elisha.
And what did Elisha do?
Elisha called for a musician… he told them to put on some Praise & Worship music
Elisha put himself in a position to receive from the Lord… too many times when we aren’t hearing the voice of the Lord, we just keep going, we keep going on the path we’re on, and that leads to failure and destruction. And we can continue down a path without technically hearing the Lord’s voice, by obeying scripture, which is the voice of God on paper
BUT sometimes you need a specific, I’m in a whole lot of trouble right now, word from God! You feel me… you ever been there, or is that just me? Am I alone in this?
When you are in that kind of place… a dessert place, a dry place… and it looks like you are about to be destroyed.
You could even be trying to go out and doing the work of the Lord… and you may find yourself asking God… why did you bring me all the way here, just to allow me to be destroyed! Maybe you feel like the enemy is about to overtake you!
BUT I’m warning you, in your desperation, don’t give up…
find your secret place… put on some praise and worship music, and go to God in humbleness and praise… then just wait… and watch and see what God can do!
- And that is where we pick the story back up…
Let's continue in 2 Kings 3, Verses 15-25
15 ”… but now bring me a musician.” Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him.
16 And he said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Make this valley full of ditches/ canals.’
17 For thus says the Lord: ‘You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you, your cattle, and your animals may drink.’
18 And this is a simple matter in the sight of the Lord; He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand.
19 Also you shall attack every fortified city and every choice city, and shall cut down every good tree, and stop up every spring of water, and ruin every good piece of land with stones.”
20 Now it happened in the morning, when the grain offering was offered, that suddenly water came by way of Edom, and the land was filled with water.
21 And when all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, all who were able to bear arms and older were gathered/ summoned; and they stood at the border.
22 Then they rose up early in the morning, and the sun was shining on the water; and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood.
23 And they said, “This is blood; the kings have surely struck swords and have killed one another; now therefore, Moab, to the spoil!”
24 So when they came to the camp of Israel, Israel rose up and attacked the Moabites, so that they fled before them; and they entered their land, killing the Moabites.
25 Then they destroyed the cities, and each man threw a stone on every good piece of land and filled it; and they stopped up all the springs of water and cut down all the good trees.
- There may have been things in your life, that were alive in our lives, but are now dead.
- There may have been some things that were vibrant, but now they’re dull
- There may have been some things that were flowing, but now they’ve stalled
- There may have been some things that were fresh, but now they’re stale
- There may have been some things that were Spirit-filled, but now they are dry
God doesn’t cause the issues in our life, or in the world, we have free will, just like everyone else in the world has free will.
But just like the Scripture says, God uses all things for the good for His people, those that serve Him. God is using things going on in this world to stir up the body of Christ to a place that they can again be used in a mighty way! When the ground is moist, and rain comes, destructive flooding happens
But when the ground is dry, and the rain comes, it is well received. The ground soaks up all it can. The rain is appreciated! The people in the world are in a dry place right now. They either don’t believe in God, or they don’t think they need Him, so they are trying to figure all this on their own!
So… you may be weary now… but there is a world of lost and broken people out there that truly need you, so do what you can to muster up any strength that you have left, and use every last ounce of that strength to begin to dig ditches... in faith, knowing that God is about to bring the rain! - Dig… knowing that the rain is coming!
Have A Blessed Day! Pastor George Finney New Life Church NewLifeKenefick@yahoo.com